Advancing Harmonized Travel Protocols and Financing Tourism’s Survival

• All Regions
• 9 Apr 2021

The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) has again convened its Global Tourism Crisis Committee to lead the sector in harmonizing travel and health protocols and securing vital financing for businesses struggling to survive an historic crisis.

The ninth meeting of the Crisis Committee advanced solutions to the biggest challenges standing in the way of international travel returning.

Committee members, drawn from political leadership, international organizations, including UNWTO’s sister UN agencies, finance and the private sector, discussed the Crisis Committee’s Recommendations, which focus on four core areas: the resumption of safe, cross-border travel; promoting safe travel at all points of the tourist journey; providing liquidity to tourism businesses and protecting jobs, and restoring confidence in travel.

The virtual meeting was co-hosted by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Opening the proceedings, the Minister for Tourism, His Excellency Ahmed bin Aqil Alkhateeb, said: "Saudi Arabia has been collaborating with partners across the public and private sectors both regionally and globally to accelerate the resumption of international travel. The facilitation of safe and seamless travel is the only way to restore confidence among travelers and tourism businesses, which will ultimately be the drivers of the sector’s recovery."

Harmonized protocols and building confidence

The Committee backed the proposed EU Digital Green Pass as an example of joined-up protocols for other regions to follow. Addressing the meeting, EU Vice President Margaritis Schinas said that “we can make summer 2021 the beginning of the post-pandemic era, one that is safer, more sustainable, more resilient and more prosperous”. He stressed that “the tourism sector can – and should - be at the forefront of this effort, leading the recovery of the European and the global economy”.

Mr. Schinas also outlined the work being done to raise consumer confidence in tourism, already devastated by issues surrounding cancelling and refunding travel services and noted: “UNWTO’s efforts to develop an International Code for the Protection of Tourists are most welcome”. The landmark legal code is one of several key UNWTO initiatives aimed at restoring confidence in international travel.

Also at the Committee, UNWTO and IATA (the International Air Transport Association) announced the forthcoming launch of a new Destination Tracker. This tool will be available on the websites of both organizations and provide comprehensive and up-to-date information on the restrictions and requirements of airlines and destinations, allowing tourists to make informed choices.  

Recommendations for Recovery

The Recommendations of the UNWTO Global Tourism Crisis Committee highlight the importance of basing policies on current international health and aviation regulations, including but not limited to provisions from the World Health Organization (WHO) and those the International Civil Aviation Authority (ICAO), most notably its ‘Take Off’ guidance and the work of its Civil Aviation Recovery Taskforce (CART). The Recommendations also call for the creation of Public Health Corridors, the implementation of digital health solutions and the development of a common “traffic-light” system as a recognizable risk management framework. In presenting the Recommendations,  the Minister of Tourism of Greece and Chair of the UNWTO Crisis Committee’s Technical Group, Harry Theoharis, said that ”this year we have more tools in our arsenal, including vaccinations, to address all concerns of travellers and people employed in the tourism sector."

Financing tourism’s survival

Through the Global Tourism Crisis Committee, UNWTO also advanced on its work addressing one of the other key challenges facing global tourism, namely the sudden halt of tourism cash flow and the need to support businesses and protect jobs. Along with ICAO and the WHO, UNWTO is one of the only UN agencies working with the OECD on its International Mobility Initiative. UNWTO is also working closely with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).  

OECD and EBRD again contributed to the latest meeting of the Crisis Committee, advancing coordinated efforts to both support tourism businesses through the current crisis and also to build future resilience and achieve greater sustainability, including through promoting green investments in the sector. Also updating the Committee were the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the International Finance Corporation (IFC), with their representatives focusing in particular on the potential role of innovation, green investments in tourism and on supporting businesses, now and during the recovery phase.

Related links

• Download the news release in PDF
• UNWTO Digital Health Passes Compendium
• UNWTO Welcomes EU Support and Urges Europe to Lead the Way in Tourism’s Restart
• UNWTO: Tourism and COVID-19

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Startup Competition Seeks Ideas to Accelerate Rural Development Through Tourism

• All Regions
• 6 Apr 2021

The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) has launched a new competition to identify the best ideas that will help rural communities recover from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Global Rural Tourism Startup Competition will also support the entrepreneurs and enterprises that can help rural communities seize the economic and social opportunities that will come as tourism restarts.

The United Nations specialized agency has recorded rising interest in unique and authentic travel experiences, including in nature-based and outdoors tourism. With this trend expected to accelerate as tourism restarts, the Startup Competition is looking for those ideas that will help ensure rural communities are best-placed to benefit. The competition will also look for ideas that will help build resilience in rural communities.

The Competition aims to support rural tourism as a key tool to fight depopulation, promote inclusion and reduce regional inequalities in income and development as part of UNWTO’s special focus on tourism for rural development.

Applications are now open for four categories:

• People –Leaving no one behind: Projects that incentivize the creation of jobs and opportunities, promote gender and youth empowerment, and build opportunities for vulnerable groups in rural areas.
• Planet – Building back better Projects related to the promotion and protection of natural resources, including addressing tourism’s impact on climate change, we as well as waste and resource consumption.
• Prosperity- opportunities for growth Startups that provide innovative solutions through new business models, instruments that promote access to finance, markets and marketing for tourism in rural areas.
• Propulsion of Rural Tech – Implementation of new technologies to advance tourism and development in rural areas.

The deadline for applications is 1 July 2021. Winners will be invited to take part in the UNWTO General Assembly, to be held in Marrakesh, Morocco, this October. 

The new competition builds on the success of UNWTO’s search for the best startups in Spain. That initiative saw more than 150 projects put forward for consideration, with the winners receiving mentorship and support from the Spanish Government and Google. For this global edition UNWTO welcomes Viajes National Geographic as its media partner. It also enjoys the support of key institutional collaborators, namely Air Europa and Wakalua as Travel Partners alongside Amazon Web Services Activate, HèPic, Impact Hub, the International Trade Centre, Fademur, The Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge of Spain, NEST Portugal, Telefonica Open Future and the TUI Care Foundation.

For more information and to apply, visit the UNWTO Startup Competitions and Challenges webpage.

Related Links

• Download the news release in PDF
• UNWTO Global Rural Tourism Startup Competition
• UNWTO: Tourism Competitiveness

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